Montenegro is a transit, source, and destination country for men, women, and girls who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor. Trafficking victims are mostly females from Ukraine , Moldova , Serbia , Romania, Bulgaria and Montenegro , who migrate or are smuggled through the country en route to other destinations and subjected to conditions of forced prostitution in Montenegro. Roma children are coerced into organized street begging in the country.
According to NGOs and international experts, mainly foreign men and boys are subjected to forced labor in Montenegro's growing construction industry. Montenegrin women and girls are subjected to forced prostitution within the country and in other Balkan countries; anecdotal reports indicate at least one Montenegrin girl was subjected to conditions of forced prostitution in Serbia during the reporting period.
Anecdotal reports in also indicated some women and girls from Serbia and other countries in this region are subjected to conditions of forced prostitution in Montenegro. Criminal networks operating in Montenegro's expanding tourism industry are reportedly engaged in trafficking for the purpose forced prostitution. According to the Human Rights Commissioner for the Council of Europe , several sources question the Montenegrin government's official stance that Montenegro does not have a considerable trafficking problem.
Reports state that there is a rampant problem of prostitution of Montenegrin girls in central and south Montenegro, where many of the clients are Albanians. The Government of Montenegro does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.
Montenegro made some important progress during the reporting period and, for the first time, publicly acknowledged a trafficking problem in Montenegro. During , the government improved the referral of some potential victims to providers of victim assistance, took initial steps to address trafficking-related complicity, and implemented anti-trafficking prevention programs aimed at vulnerable populations in Montenegro. However, NGOs and international organizations continued to report insufficient capacity among relevant government agencies to identify potential trafficking victims.
